Forgive Him
by Marie Nomad
Summary: Meryl meets someone who makes her decide on something very important on the eve of the most important event in her life. MGS4 spoilers.


All characters take place after MGS4 so there are a lot of spoilers including one big one. I don't know any of this.

Forgive Him

By Marie Nomad

Meryl felt anxious and yet peaceful as she stood in line to the sushi bar. She was getting married tomorrow. Mei Ling offered to take her out but she wouldn't do it. Meryl wasn't the type to do things a normal woman would do. All she wanted to do was to reflect on her last day of being single over a cup of sake and a good plate of sushi.

Meryl saw an old man sitting at a table with a motorcycle helmet across from him. He had a plate with various assortment of sushi in front of him. He wore a thick pair of sunglasses and he seemed familiar. She couldn't put her finger on it. The strange old man got out a smaller motorcycle helmet and put it in front of him. "We are finally having our sushi, Eva." He whispered.

The seats next to him were vacant so she walked up beside him. "May I take this seat?"

The old man nodded his consent.

"Thanks." She sat down. The sushi chef looked at her expectantly. "I would like smoked salmon, squid, and tuna."

"Hai."

"I had eaten raw tuna and this doesn't taste much like it." The old man commented beside her.

"It was prepared."

"Ah."

Meryl got her food and started to eat as she kept on staring at him. This nagging feeling won't go away and finally she decided to ask the question. "Have we met before?"

The old man looked amused. "Are you hitting on me?"

"NO! I mean, I'm engaged to get married."

"Ah, so you are looking for one last shot before finding commitment. I don't blame you."

"That's not it!" Meryl snapped. He had the same dumb sense of humor as Snake but it wasn't Snake. "Just a minute." Meryl got out her cell phone and called Otacon. "Hal?"

"Yes, Meryl?"

"Is… Dave with you?"

"Of course he is. Why?"

"Nothing." Meryl hung up and stared at the old man. He had the beard, and the hair, and that lingering smell of smoke that Snake had but different. Could he be Big Boss? She shook her head. No, Big Boss sightings had become as common as Elvis sightings used to be. Of course, having multiple clones made the sightings more likely.

"Is something wrong?" The old man asked. "You don't have to afraid to sleep with me. I'm sterile."

"NO! I'm Meryl. What's your name?"

"John."

"Ah." Meryl nodded.

"I know where you know me from."

"You do?"

"Yes, you dated my son, David Pliskin, in Alaska."

Meryl's face paled. David Pliskin was Snake's alias that he used in Alaska. She reached for her piece and whispered as low as she could. "Who are you?"

The old man grabbed her and whispered back. "Big Boss. Don't worry, I won't hurt you." He glanced around at the near empty restaurant. "We're going to a booth." He gestured to a booth. Meryl nodded. Big Boss was fast, he had taught Snake everything he knew. If the stories are true, and there's no doubt that they are, he could kill her faster than she could get her gun out.

The two went to a booth and Big Boss put the motorcycle helmet to the side. He reached into his pocket and got out a small box. He pressed it and a faint hum filled the air. "We should have some privacy. This will keep people from overhearing us. So, feel free to talk."

"How the hell can you be alive?! You died at the Volta and at Zanzibarland!"

"Solidus died at the Volta. He was the perfect clone of me, even missing an eye. I was kept alive by a doctor."

"Oh…" Meryl held her head. "Are you going to continue what Liquid did?"

"No, it was finished. The Patriots are destroyed."

"So, what are you doing now? Because, if it's wrong, we will stop you."

"All I wish to do is die. I have nothing. All of my friends are gone. I… I have no place left. The only ones who I truly cared about left were Solid Snake and your father."

"I thought you hate Snake. You tried to kill him. You nearly drove him crazy with guilt. He had to kill his own father! Do you have any idea how much that hurt him?!"

"I know what that was like." Big Boss sighed as he rubbed the missing eye under his sunglasses. "I didn't really hated him. I hated what he was. He and his brothers were copies of me, created against my will. I believed they were monsters."

"Snake's not a monster. He's a man. He… he…."

"I know about his shortened lifespan. That was another reason I tried to kill him early. The End, he was over a hundred years old, and yet his desire was to die in a battlefield against me. It was better to die in a flash of glory rather than to just wither away like a cut rose. I tried to delay it by getting him to quit that nasty habit of smoking cigarettes." He paused as he got out a cigar and lit it.

"And cigars are different?"

"They are healthier." Meryl shook her head. As Big Boss smoked his cigar, she smiled slightly. She knew that this man is not Snake but at the same time, he seem to resemble him in so many ways. He was the mold that made Snake what he was. "What?"

"You look like Snake when you smoked. I know that smoking a cigar is different but you have the same expression he did. Sorry."

"No. I should expect comparisons between me and Snake. He was my son, after all. You look like your father."

Meryl tensed up. "I don't want to talk about him."

"Why not?"

She glared at him and he sighed. Women had always been an enigma to him. "Why don't we talk about something else?"

"I was wondering, why do you have a motorcycle helmet here?"

"This was Eva's, Snake's mother. Have you met her?"

"Not really." Meryl confessed. She didn't know much about Snake's mother, and the only time when she saw her was when she was dead.

"She was sweet and seductive. She was the type that would do flips on a motorcycle and yet make you feel so warm." Big Boss closed his eye as he thought about her.

"Were you… married?"

"No. We were both soldiers; born and raised to fight. Eva wanted to have children. I couldn't give her any; at least not by normal means. I was attacked and put into a coma. When I woke up, Eva was pregnant with my clones. After that, things weren't the same. I hated them just because they were 'born'. I even try to kill them as infants."

"You tried to kill a couple of innocent babies?"

"She flung herself over them ready to die if necessary. So, I decided to groom them and make them powerful and then kill them. She never forgave me for that."

"I can see why." Meryl said in disgust. Big Boss just looked down even more solemn. Her face lightened. It wasn't his fault that he was cloned. If someone had decided to make copiers of her, she would have every right to be angry too. "I think that she still loves you though. She did so much to bring you back."

"I know." Big Boss put his hand on the helmet and gently rubbed it. "I still love her, even after all this time. I only wish that I could see her again."

"I'm sure you will." Meryl took his free hand.

"In the afterlife. So, who is this man that you prefer over my son?"

"His name is Johnny. He worked with me in my unit. He… he's not the best soldier. In fact, lots of times, I knocked him around but he kept on being loyal to me. He was a man first and a soldier second. He… he makes me feel normal."

"You love him."

"Yeah. Snake… Snake's great. He will always have a place in my heart but Johnny's… he's special."

"Sounds like your father. He was a man first and a soldier second. Maybe that's why he outlived everyone."

"You're still alive but I guess that you are ri-" Meryl glared at the old man again. "YOU TRICKED ME!"

"Well, espionage was my specialty."

"Grrrr… You are so damn twisted."

"You should see me when I was in Zanzibarland. I did stuff that was a little crazy."

"Oh really."

"I installed squeaky sand and poisonous hamsters."

Meryl blinked. "Poisonous hamsters."

"Well, they were rat/hamster hybrids but they are deadly things, they will kill you in one bite."

"Okay…" Meryl paused as she thought about Johnny and Campbell. Now that Big Boss mentioned it, they are somewhat similar. "Why do you think that Campbell is like Johnny?"

"I knew him when we were young. He… he wasn't the best hand to hand fighter but he was smart. He had a good heart. Even in the later days, he loved you like a daughter, which is funny since it turns out that you are really his daughter."

"He… he loved me."

"Of course. He had pictures of you. He talked about you constantly. You really grew up to be one hot woman."

"I…" Meryl felt like turning red. This man was nothing like the legends or how Snake described him. He wasn't insane or the type to walk on water. He seemed very normal. "Thanks."

"You're welcome. I don't want a father and his daughter to stay mad at each other."

"What about you? Snake's still alive. You and Snake can still have some bonding time that doesn't involve guns or fighting or metal gears."

"I suppose that I am a little nervous." Big Boss confessed.

"Nervous?! The Legendary Big Boss nervous over meeting his son?!" Meryl joked.

"The last time I saw him, I tried to kill him. I don't know how he would react. In his condition, he might have a heart attack before I have one."

"Huh?"

"Never mind."

"Let's make a deal. I will go ahead and try to give Campbell one more chance if you try to make good with Snake."

"Maybe I should. It's a deal then." Big Boss shook Meryl's hand and then took it to his lips. He gave her hand a light kiss and Meryl blushed brighter.

"Hey!" She snatched her hand back. "Will you stop hitting on me? Especially in front of her." She gestured to the helmet.

"Just a friendly gesture. Nothing more."

"Okay, just try to watch it or I will poke your other eye out."

Big Boss just smirked and got out his money. "I have to go. I have something to do." He paused as he reached into his pocket and gave Meryl a small pager. "Here."

"An old fashioned pager?"

"It's connected to my nanomachine network." Big Boss took off his sunglasses and then his strapless eye patch to reveal a small machine. "This is a nano micro bomb. It tracks my brainwaves and heartbeat; the second that both stop, it will release a chemical that destroy my body and leave nothing behind. Hence, no more clones can be made."

"No more Snakes."

"Yes. That pager will beep and show the place and date of my death as well as the cause."

Meryl stared at the pager. "Why are you giving this to me?"

"You would probably search the world for me any other way. I'm irresistible."

"More like scary but thanks. It was an honor to meet you. I can see why Snake's so amazing."

"Thanks. It was an honor to meet you too."

"If you want, you can come to my wedding tomorrow. Knowing Snake, he won't be there but he would blab to Campbell and he would show up. You can talk to him."

"I… I have stuff to do."

"Right. Well, goodbye, John." Meryl put down her money and walked away.

XXX

Meryl took a break from the festivities. The wedding went on without a hitch except for Drebin's unexpected arrival. He didn't bring guns and ammo but flowers and wine. Campbell came and he walked her down the isle. She wasn't sure how her relationship was with him but she didn't want to end on bad terms like Snake's family. Snake didn't come and part of her was relieved. She didn't know how to break it to him that Big Boss was still alive. No one else knew but she will let them know.

All of a sudden, she heard a beep. Meryl quickly got out the pager and gasped.

_Termination:_

_Time: 1900 hrs_

_Coordinates: 04512547_

_Cause of death: Foxdie virus_

"Looks like you held up your part of the bargain, Big Boss."

The End


End file.
